How Kurama Leads Naruto Astray

The moment before Shikamaru was flung from the stands, he was about to greet Naruto. But now, not only would he not greet him, but after the match, he planned to give Naruto a good beating to soothe his bruised heart from being kicked away.

Seeing Shikamaru crash to the ground, the people in the stands couldn't help but wince, especially those in the preparation area who saw Naruto's kick, they just facepalmed.

Above, Sakura felt embarrassed: "Although I don't know why Shikamaru made such an entrance, I'm sure it was Naruto's doing."

In her memory, Naruto had kicked Sasuke, tried to kick Kakashi (though he missed), and during school, he had also kicked Chouji, Shino, and others. Basically, he always did this kind of thing with his pranks.

Ino just shrugged helplessly beside her.

In the preparation area, Naruto came to the fence, extremely excited, and shouted down to Shikamaru, "Go Shikamaru!"

Shikamaru: "..."

He wanted to die.

He wasn't like Naruto. Naruto didn't care about social death because he was a social beast, but Shikamaru just didn't care. Yet at this moment, he still wanted to die because this social death wasn't just in the eyes of Konohagakure, but also in front of so many other countries' villagers.

Even with a thick skin, Shikamaru really wanted to die.

Thinking this, Shikamaru's gaze became distant: "What a drag..."

Shikamaru, utterly unmotivated.jpg

Now, not only the audience but even his opponent Temari couldn't stand it anymore. She frowned and gripped her iron fan tightly: "Are you looking down on me?"

Shikamaru didn't answer, not out of laziness, but because he simply hadn't heard what Temari said.

Temari got even angrier.

In the audience, Asuma covered his face, unable to bear the snickering beside him: "Shikamaru..."

On the field, Shiranui Genma shook his head with a sigh. Really, if he didn't know the Nara clan's lazy nature, he would be angry. And this kid seemed even lazier than the rest of the Nara clan. How did he even become a Jonin?

Forget it, Shiranui Genma didn't want to wait for Shikamaru either. He waved his right hand: "The match begins."

Temari had been waiting for a long time!

She grabbed her fan, which was slightly taller than her, opened it fully, and swung it forcefully in Shikamaru's direction: "Wind Style: Kamaitachi!"

Shikamaru: "!!!"

As troublesome as it was, getting hit would be painful, and he'd probably have to go to the hospital. Then, the whole situation would become even more troublesome!

After a brief moment of thought, Shikamaru dodged the ninjutsu with a quick roll and hid himself in the only patch of trees in the arena.

"Kamaitachi! Kamaitachi!! Kamaitachi!!!" Temari unleashed her chakra like it was free, sending three consecutive wind-style attacks at the trees. The powerful gusts covered most of the area, with sharp wind blades hidden within as a finishing move.

Watching a small tree get chopped in half, Shikamaru winced, "If that hits me, I might not even make it to the hospital."

That's the thing with wind-style ninjutsu; it either causes serious damage over a large area or has unexpectedly high killing power in a small area. Kamaitachi's ninjutsu combines both, though its range isn't as wide as large-scale wind ninjutsu, nor its killing power as concentrated as smaller ones. But in an arena like this, there's nowhere to hide—it's a deadly weapon in a confined space.

And Temari is a mid-range ninjutsu ninja, while I'm more of a close to mid-range support type. It's like a fragile support character going up against a high-damage mage—my reach isn't as long as hers; I'm outmatched.

Shikamaru's head hurt, his stomach ached, and he wanted to give up. But Kankuro had just surrendered in the previous match, and if he gave up now, the audience might curse him out. It's tough, why did you have to surrender, Kankuro? You've done me no favors!

A wind blade grazed Shikamaru's cheek, leaving a small cut. Wiping away the blood, he looked up at the sky with a vacant gaze, "The sky is so blue... the clouds so white..."

Temari couldn't see Shikamaru's position, but the audience above had a full view. Asuma really wanted to crawl into a hole; it was embarrassing. He believed in Shikamaru, but his current performance made Asuma feel useless as a teacher.

Kurenai was about to burst out laughing.

She shook her head, wiping away tears of laughter, and said to the listless Shikamaru, "If it weren't for the Ino-Shika-Cho formation, you probably wouldn't have let this kid pass the exam, right?"

She was speaking to Asuma.

Unexpectedly, Asuma shook his head helplessly, "No, out of the whole squad, I have the highest hopes for Shikamaru. 

His talent and abilities far exceed your expectations."

"Huh?" Kurenai was taken aback, hesitant, "Are you serious?"

It wasn't that she looked down on Shikamaru, but his current performance was really poor. The audience was already starting to jeer, and in this state, Shikamaru couldn't use the Nara clan's shadow manipulation techniques. He had no strategy other than taking hits.

Asuma was truly helpless, but he still smiled, "I think it's about time."

"Time for what?" Kurenai didn't understand.

"Just watch, this kid is going to surprise you." Asuma truly believed in Shikamaru, and so did Ino and Chouji. They were the only three in the arena who didn't mock Shikamaru or think he was sure to lose.

"Ino, Shikamaru's going to lose," Sakura said with a look of anticipation.

Ino, resting her chin on her hand, seemed a bit frustrated, "He's definitely not going to lose! If he does, I'm telling Aunt Nara!"

Chouji, who had apparently come from the hospital, was munching on chips, his face the picture of calm, "Shikamaru's going to lose, but not in the way you think, Sakura. He'll forfeit on his own."

"What?" Sakura's eyes widened, "Isn't that worse?"

"No," Chouji shook his head, a glint in his barely visible eyes, "He'll beat his opponent and then forfeit when everyone thinks he's won. That's the only time he can use the excuse that he's out of chakra, otherwise, Aunt Nara would break both his legs."

Sakura was skeptical, "How could that be? Shikamaru's been like this since school started. He's not good at academics, taijutsu, or ninjutsu. The other guy is a genius from Sunagakure Village, and you're exaggerating... right, Ino?"

Sakura looked for Ino's agreement, but to her surprise, Ino was frowning and didn't agree. Instead, she clenched her fists, looking at Shikamaru, "If Shikamaru dares to forfeit on purpose, I'm telling on him!"

Sakura: "..."

Seriously, where do you two get your confidence?

Suddenly, Chouji spoke up, "Shikamaru's not bad at academics."

"What?" Sakura was taken aback.

Chouji looked at her, squeezing a smile out of his chubby face, "Shikamaru's not bad at academics. It's just that if he does too well, he finds it troublesome."

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